Remembering Your Past
by canthelpbutnotice
Summary: Tristan, Rory, Jess, + Lane grew up together. Tristan moves away only to have Rory find him years later at Chilton. Trory. AU.
1. Chapter 1

Not mine own nothing.

A/N - Yeah, I know I have more stories to finish but you can't ignore a good idea (at least I think it's a good idea) when you have writer's block.

****

Tristan lives in Stars Hollow with his grandfather and Rory, Tristan, Jess, and Lane all grew up together and are best friends.

_ ****_

Stars Hollow early 1990s (I think can't really figure out the year.)

As soon as she had finished roll call the kindergarten teacher Mrs. Krutcher saw a little hand go up.

"Yes, Rory?"

"Where's Twistan?"

"Tristan is no longer coming to this school, Rory."

"Why not?"

"Because his family will be moving away."

The teacher dismissed the idea and went on with the lesson while Rory sat there thinking about why Tristan would move away. After class Rory ran to Luke's where she usually waited until Lorelei was done with work.

"Hey Luke is Twistan really moving away?"

"I guess so Rory why don't you go down to his house to say good-bye. Jess is already waiting there."

"Okay. Bye Luke."

"Hey Twistan why you moving away?" Rory asked finding the two little boys in a maze of boxes.

"Cause my granddad's in the hospital."

"Well you could live with me until he feels bwetter."

"That's what I told my mommy but she's evil and won't let me stay."

"Darn. Are you going to come visit us?"

"If my evil mommy lets me."

****

11 Years Later

16 year old Rory Gilmore walked into Luke's Diner on a Saturday where Jess was cleaning the counter.

"Hey Ror. Did you get your letter?"

"Yes. I made it."

"Congrats," he said getting pulled into a small hug, "So I here the new guy asked you out."

"Yeah, but I said 'no'."

"Why? Not like I wanted you to go out with him cause he's a jerk."

"Do you ever wondered what happened to Tristan?" she asked thoroughly avoiding the subject while turning to their best 'what if' topic.

"Yeah, well, you might meet him at Chilton, Ror."

"Why do you say that?"

"Cause you know how his Granddad's house always had expensive stuff?"

"Yeah so?"

"Well I looked up 'DuGrey' once and it's this giant Hartford socialite family."

"Hmm…that's weird I always thought they were a small town family. I'll see you later gotta meet my mom." 

The weekend passed by quickly for Rory and soon she was at her first day at Chilton. She quickly walked to her first class and gave her note to the teacher.

'Let's see what Hartford socialites look like. There's two girls that are obviously pretty shallow, another girl with a permanent scowl on her face, and a guy that looks strangely like an older Tristan.'

Way in the back of the class Sean leaned over to give Tristan some opinions.

"Hey Tristan looks like we got another Mary."

"Yeah, another Mary," he agreed lost in his thoughts. 'Why does that girl look strangely like Rory Gilmore?' 

"All right then Miss Gilmore would you please take a seat in front of Mr. DuGrey. Tristan please raise your hand."

"Mary," Tristan greeted as she sat down.

"Tristan, did you have a memory lapse since the last time we met cause I could have sworn my name was Rory."

"Never knew you to have such an offending tone Mary."

"Oh my god I am so sorry Tristan," she exclaimed as a light bulb went off in her head.

"Sorry about what?"

"Since you can't even remember something that important I guess I'll take my apology back."

"Wait what are you sorry about?" he asked even more curious.

"Mr. DuGrey will you stop trying to get the newly arrived Miss Gilmore in trouble?"

"No but she said…"

"Yes, yes please tell me what she would say to offend you this early on," the teacher asked cutting him off.

"She said that she was sorry."

"And that bothers you how?"

"She won't tell me what she's sorry about," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Miss Gilmore what are you sorry about?"

"His granddad died today but since he didn't have the courtesy to remember I only extend the apologies to the rest of his family."

"Well, Mary, it's not my fault I've been trying to forget that event!"

"Yeah, and the five years that go before it!"

As the argument quickly escalated into a shouting match the teacher the teacher shot them both down.

"QUIET! Since both of you seem to need to work this problem out you can do it after class or in the headmaster's office."

Both immediately shut up and sank down into their seats, sulking. Both waited until the bell rang then sprang up to go outside and finish their argument.

"I know what you're up to Gilmore." Rory heard a cold voice behind her say.

"Excuse me but do I know you?" she asked, head whipping around in surprise 

"Hopefully we won't get to know each other. I know what you're doing. You're trying to get Tristan just because you know about his past. I know your type, pretending to be sweet and innocent. Mark my words Gilmore Tristan is mine," and with another glare Paris turned and walked out of the room only to run straight into Tristan.

"Nobody has ever pissed off Paris that fast so what did you do Mary?" 

"Tristan my name is Rory," she repeated in her calm frustrated voice.

"So what ever did happen to the other two?" Tristan responded ignoring her previous statement

"And you care why? Never did bother before," she brushed him off angrily as she walked past him and into the hall.

"Don't be mad Mary. I'll come visit sometime," Tristan shouted down the hall to her, earning weird looks by the few stragglers. "Rory you're more amazing than I remember," he turned around and jogged down the hall to where his friends were sitting.

A/N - Yeah I know kinda weird and I guess kinda sucky. Advice is appreciated. 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N - Sorry about the lack, of well, plot in this chapter but I wanted something to happen in Stars Hollow and I guess I needed more character interaction. Suddenly due to my free time I have updated two different stories in one week. And if that sounds like little actvity you should try and see how long it normally takes. Anyways try to enjoy this filler-ish chapter. Oh, and a little Dean bashing. I was in the mood.

  
  


"Jess. Coffee now," was the first thing a very disgruntled Rory said as she walked into Luke's after getting off the bus. Well, at least, getting off the bus and receiving her very shocking surprise: Dean. After telling him off, or no, yesterday she would think that he would go away, but it could take four different languages for him to get that she didn't want to date him, ever.

  


"Is the BagBoy still stalking you? Cause I can go hurt him if you want. It's just giving me an excuse to do what I've been waiting for," Jess responded half serious, half jokingly. He began to fill her cup then started to smirk as he watched her almost fall over from the weight of her backpack 

  


"So why is he BagBoy? And apparently stalking is now his favorite pastime. Has my mom been in here yet? And Tristan is at Chilton." Rory took the cup gratefully and bounced around from topic to topic as only a Gilmore could.

  


"He works at Doose's. I can solve the stalking problem really fast. And she was here after you left for school, at her morning break, at her lunch break, and an hour ago. So I was right," he quickly finished only to have a look of shock and surprise settle on his face when he glanced up and saw the discussed problem staring into the window. "Damn, you really meant that he had a stalking problem."

  


"What?" Rory followed his gaze to the corner of the window. Groaning as he flashed her wobbly smile, while decked out in the Doose's apron, her forehead decided to meet the counter. BagBoy's expression turned to one of worry and started to walk to the door. Jess responded with a glare and he shook his head warning him to not even try.

  


"What's wrong with her?" asked a suddenly appearing Lorelai, who had taken a seat next Rory. "Why does my favorite child look dead?"

  


"Damn, where did you come from? She's not dead just the object of undesired affection. And shouldn't Lane be bouncing in here some time soon?" Jess responded in a sadistic fashion only he could pull off. Filling Lorelai's cup he watched practically chug the coffee as he waited for a response.

  


"Who's the giver of undesired affection? And I don't think Lane will be coming by any time soon. Her mom was giving me extra super 'you have corrupted my daughter' glares." Jess followed up by nodding in the direction of Dean, who was still standing there despite earlier warnings. Lorelai followed the nod and immediately her face looked like she had just tasted bad coffee.

  


"How was your first day at Hell?" Lorelai asked when Rory decided to wake from the dead at the action of having her cup refilled.

  


"Bad. Very bad. Tristan was there. He's evil now. And a girl named Paris threatened me cause I had an argument with the stated above evil one in class. And apparently my name is now Mary. Why is my name Mary?" Rory stated in short sentences as if thinking any harder would make her brain explode. "And my backpack now weighs twenty pounds," she added all the while gesturing to the heap on the floor.

  


"I thought you knew Tristan was there...oops."

  


"You knew?!?" "MOM!" Both exclamations came out of the teenagers at the same time.

  


"How did you know Tristan was there?" Jess asked looking at her accusingly.

  


"One: don't look at me like that. I didn't do anything wrong. Two: I met him at the one party I went to for my Grandpa's birthday and he was there. We argued can't remember over what and now he's evil. MOM! Why did you say that? I never wanted to remember that again," Rory rambled answering and accusing each person in their own statements.

  


"Did I not say oops? You're the new Virgin Mary. And your backpack only weighs twenty pounds?"

  


"I' the Virgin Mary. Somebody spare my life now. What do you mean only twenty?" After a quick glance over her shoulder she realized that, yes, Dean was still there and started to come in, taking her glance as an invitation. She heard the bell jingle and again forehead met counter.

  


"Rory, are you okay? That's the second time you've done that. And besides wouldn't want you sick if we're going out Sa-" he said, coming to a stop beside her and stepping in a little too close.

  


"You know, Dean, all that frustration is because of the twenty pounds of homework have to do. And with all that homework I doubt I'll have any time to date," Rory answered, complete with forced politeness, cheeriness, and smile.

  


*cough* "she doesn't like you" *cough* came from Jess as he was wiping the other end of the counter clean.

  


"Yeah, well, I've got to get going my break is almost over," Dean announced slowly through clenched teeth as if he was making a threat towards Jess.

  


"I guess I have to start my homework if I want to sleep tonight," Rory admitted sadly and began to drag her backpack through the door after Jess automatically handed her a to-go cup of coffee. "Aren't you coming?" she asked referring to Lorelai.

  


"Are you kidding? I've only had one cup so far and you really want me there when you're trying to work?" Lorelai answered as if stating the complete obvious.

  


Rory headed for the door again, muttering something about evil mothers and way too little coffee in the world. Slamming into a hard body halfway out the door, she started to fall backwards due to the weight of the backpack, but was steadied by strong, firm hands. She started to apologize but let out a gasp when she realized exactly who she had just bumped into.

  


"Hey Mary."


	3. Chapter 3

"What are you doing here!?!" Rory all but shrieked, drawing Luke out of the storage room.

  


"You know, usually it's you who's the one screaming. Rory tends to be the more rational Gilmore girl," Jess said referring to the disgruntled Rory.

  


"You can't be here. You're not here. You're a figment of my imagination. I'm slowly going insane," Rory mumbled, pacing in front of the door while the rest watched her bemused.

  


"Hey you look familiar," Lorelai said finally noticing the reason Rory was currently in a state of denial. The other two behind the counter nodded their agreement and Tristan smirked at them.

  


"I'm really hurt that you don't remember me, Lorelai," he sniffled and pretended to wipe away a tear, "after all you did call me the son you never had."

  


"Tristan!" everyone exclaimed at once, at once realizing who the blonde in front of them was.

  


"And _now _they get it," Rory said to no one in particular, having stopped her pacing and settled for sitting with her face promptly buried in her hands.

  


"What's a Tristan?" now everyone including the upset Rory and shocked Tristan looked over to see where the puzzled voice had originated from. Standing next to the counter was an obviously forgotten Dean who stared at the rest perplexed by the sudden appearance of the stranger. He was visibly confused as to the purpose of people exclaiming a name.

  


Tristan turned to Jess who he had instantly recognized upon walking into Luke's. "Who's floppy hair boy?"

  


Jess smirked, notably happy to have someone else making fun of Dean. "I prefer to call him BagBoy. It does suit him much better."

  


"Hello? I'm still here," Dean said infuriated at the two boys who were plainly ignoring and provoking him. 

"Oh, we know," both answered at the same time then turned to each other, smirking. Lorelai was intensely amused at her 'son's' reappearance and Luke had already moved on with his life and was taking someone's order.

  


"I repeat. Who are you?" Rory lifted and turned her head towards the three boys, knowing how Jess and Tristan were going to start harassing Dean. Yet, she was too mad at him to care if the two long lost best friends tore him apart.

  


"I don't think that BagBoy deserves to know who I am. What do you think Jess?" Tristan said edging closer to the curious one.

  


"Oh, yes. He hasn't been here long enough to know how we are. He doesn't deserve to know the rest of us," Jess nodded his approval and began to corner Dean.

  


"Hey, I could take you," Dean proclaimed trying to have some dignity in the situation.

  


"No, no. I'm sure my friend Jess here could beat your BagBoy ass all the way back to where you came from," Tristan said this while pushing him a little, ignoring the warning looks sent over by Luke.

  


"Yeah, well, I could kick your ass back to where you came from, accountant."

  


"Was that supposed to be clever? Tristan's from here and you know how protective we get of our own kind," Jess said nodding to Tristan to begin the fighting.

  


"Hey! No fighting in the diner," Luke paused as Dean smiled triumphantly at the pair, "Take it outside." His look turned to worry as the two boys each grabbed a shoulder and threw him out the door, onto the sidewalk. He had landed face first half on the sidewalk, half on the street. This time the two boys smirked triumphantly as they watched Dean slowly pick himself up. Turning around Tristan was met with a very angry Rory who had apparently revived from another cup of coffee.

  


"I repeat: What are you doing here?" she pronounced every syllable slowly and loudly as if speaking with a two-year-old. Out of the corner of her eye she watched Jess sneak into the kitchen, holding his hands up in defense. 

  


Tristan merely grinned at her obvious annoyance and responded, calmly, "You shouldn't be too surprised, Mary. I did tell you that I was going to visit." He waited as the remembrance of his previous words in school dawned on her. "Now where's Lane? Or does her mother still hold her hostage like when we were little?"

  


"Oh yeah! Remember those really evil looks she used to send me back then like: 'Go away, you're corrupting my daughter.' I swear those get worse and worse every time I see her. Like, just right now I was passing by the store and she did it again! I don't think Laney will come out to play anytime soon." The babble had obviously come from Lorelai who while talking animatedly hit Jess over the head as he came behind the counter once again.

  


Jess shot her a dirty look as she mumbled a 'sorry' and went back to bothering Luke. Tristan grinned and took a seat next to Lorelai, gesturing to the one next to him for Rory. She sat down as he requested then reached over and pushed him off the stool.

  


"Jerk, you took my seat."

  


This time it was Jess who smirked at Tristan's newly formed injury. "So Tristan how's the good life been?"

  


Tristan shrugged casually after he had reseated himself and responded lightly, "Oh, you know, same old, same old. Women, cars, women. Hey, can I have a Coke?"

  


At this both Gilmores turned and stared at him with wide eyes.

  


"What?" Tristan immediately responded, preparing himself for any bodily harm that may come again. Receiving no answer from the still shocked Gimores and amused Jess he questioned again, "What? What did I do?"

  


Lorelai being the first to recover answered in an overwhelmed tone, "Did I not have a hand in rasing you? Did I not introduce you to coffee at four-years-old? Did I not fulfill my ultimate duty? How dare you order a...a Coke!" She spit the last word out as if it was the thought of life without coffee.

  


Tristan now realizing his mistake turned to Jess with frightened expression, "Get them four cups of coffee, now. And forget about the Coke."

  


The two on either side of him immediately brightened. Lorelai checked her watch absentmindedly then looked up, startled. "Make that to go, Jess. I just remembered that I have some damage control to do. Bye, kiddies. Don't have fun without me." She was out the door as soon as Jess handed her two cups of coffee.

  


"What have I told you about giving that women coffee, Jess?" The gruff question came from Luke who had just come out of the kitchen 

  


"Uh, just do it?"

  


Luke shoved two plates of food into Jess' hands then ordered, "Go." And went back into the kitchen.

  


Both Rory and Tristan chuckled lightly at the scene and then Tristan turned to Rory who was calmly sipping one of the four cups Jess had placed in front of her. "So why did we start fighting today in class?"

  


Rory seemed to think about this for a moment then responded carefully, "It's just that your grandfather was such a big deal to you when we were younger and I couldn't really believe that you would forget something as important as the day he died. That and I was still a little steamed about the argument we had last time we met up again." She knew that there were some things she should still be mad at him about but once he dropped the spoiled rich kid act and went back to normal, Rory couldn't help it if they went back to normal too.

  


Tristan dropped his head in embarrassment and appeared to be going over Rory's answer with some consideration. "I never really forgot I just pushed it into the back of my mind cause I didn't really want to remember a time when I was happier...although not to say that Chilton isn't fun." Rory caught the meaning of his words and playfully shoved him with one hand. "And to be honest I don't even remember what we fought about last time." 

  


"I think it had something to do with you and being corrupted into society's standards. Or you bad-mouthed coffee. Think it's the first one not really sure."

  


Smirking at her attempt to lighten the situation Tristan answered calmly, "Although you would be one to fight over coffee, I think the first choice is more rational. So I'm pretty sure that's enough of serious talk. What do you plan on doing the rest of the day?"

  


"What do you mean what am I going to do? Have you not noticed that my backpack is practically bursting open? Or do you just not remember the term homework?" Rory remained incredulous to the fact that Tristan barely acknowledged their workload. 

  


"Oh, that. I'm sure I can get someone else to do it for us. We can go see a movie or something instead." Tristan on the other hand was amazed that Rory had willingly brought up homework instead of ignoring it. 

  


"You know, Tris, I worked really hard to get into Chilton and I think that I'll keep on doing the same," she stated this a bit matter-of-factly. Both once again reminded that they weren't the same little kids from before.

  


Tristan noticed the lack of ease between them due to the new difference of opinions and decided now would be the best time to leave. "So I guess I'll be going, Ror. You have a lot of catching up to do. I'll see you tomorrow in school."

  


"Wait, Tris, are you still going to be the same jerk like today?" Rory asked the question hesitatingly and so quietly that Tristan had to strain to hear it.

  


"I've got to do what's expected of me," he responded as if the question didn't even require any thought. Motioning a 'goodbye' to both Luke and Jess Tristan started for the door when Rory spoke up again.

  


"I remember a time when you didn't care what was expected of you and you didn't bother to live up to their expectations anyway." Her voice took on a reminiscent tone and Tristan glared at her disapprovingly.

  


"Well, there's not much to be expected of five-year-olds. Besides you don't even know what's required of me." The words were said with some finality and when Tristan left even the sharp sound of the door slamming could not bring Rory out of her reverie. 

  


Five minutes later Rory had not yet moved and no one had dared to approach her. Suddenly, she stood up and left, dragging her backpack, without saying a word to anyone. Not bothering to check for any messages Rory went straight into her room and began the tedious task of catching up although she was running on auto pilot. When Lorelai returned once again from work Rory was still working hard and opted for a quick pizza dinner. After finishing late Lorelai insisted on knowing all things that had happened concerning Tristan. 

  


Rory went over everything from their spontaneous and foolish argument in class over his grandfather to threats from random girls and finally the last conversation in the diner. While Rory remained confused about Tristan's sudden changes in demeanor, Lorelai understood perfectly the effects that two different lifestyles had on him.

  


After a semi-peaceful night of sleep Rory prepared herself for the hell that was Chilton and when she finally arrived, a surprise was in store for her. Despite the fact that their meeting had ended on a somewhat sour note she hadn't expected for Tristan to ignore her the entire time. The only time he had even noticed her was when their teacher had singled them out.

  


"Mr. DuGrey and Miss Gilmore, I assume you two have sorted out your differences and we can conduct today's lesson with peace and order."

  


Rory blushed brightly at the reminder of their actions while a quick glance towards Tristan indicated that he remained staring blankly at the chalk board.

  


"Well?"

  


The second question brought their attention back to the teacher and they nodded barely which was enough that the teacher began his lecture. Through the rest of the class period Rory took notes feverishly while periodic peeks at Tristan noted that he had not even picked up his pencil. By the end of the school day Rory had several encounters with Tristan while he refused to even acknowledge her presence and at lunch she found him making out with a girl somewhere near the cafeteria. 

  


The bus ride home once again reverted Rory back to her thoughts and she had to be reminded to get off on her stop. To her relief Dean was no where in sight and she headed to Luke's gratefully. 

  


"So was the second day any better?" Jess asked casually as he poured her a second cup. A glare was Rory's only response and he backed off wisely. 

  


"Okay, guess not."

  


Rory heard the bell jingle and from her position that required her head buried in her arms she noticed that someone had taken a seat beside her. At first she figured it was Lorelai on her break but the figure said nothing at all to her or any one else. Lifting her head Rory turned to look at the figure and saw that it was not Lorelai. In fact the person was the last Rory was expecting to see. But then again it was obvious her expectations were never going to be met. 

  
  


A/N - Okay, so maybe Rory and Tristan stopped arguing way too fast but remember they still have old memories of playing together as little kids. And maybe they remember way too much for five-year-olds but hey they seem pretty smart on the show. And maybe people have way too many mood swings. I hope this chapter was less confusing than the ones before. Thanks.

  



	4. Chapter 4

Tristan wordlessly took a seat, or stool, next to the shocked Rory and proceeded to get a cup of coffee from Jess, who was too stunned to even mange a sarcastic comment. After the way Tristan had stormed out of the diner yesterday, he hardly believed that the same guy was sitting in the very same diner and probably the same stool.

The pair of acquaintances sat unmoving, except to take a sip of their drinks, for about ten minutes when Tristan had finished the coffee, silently paid, then left. Jess finally opened his mouth and tentatively asked Rory, "What was that all about?"

She stared out the window to where Tristan was slowly backing his car out and quietly responded, "I have no clue."

The next day at school she was anticipating another confrontation with the royalty of the hallowed halls she was walking. Yet nothing happened. Her routine remained the same and during the classes with Tristan the teachers had kept her too busy with work for her to pay any attention to his presence.

Until they once again reached Honors Chemistry, the root of all evil, with a teacher who evidently hated new students. And Rory came about this conclusion in the worst way possible. Having a little trouble conducting a lab since her partner was absent, Tristan's group had already finished and the teacher so kindly suggested that Tristan help her keep up with the pace of the rest of the class.

Again, retaining his silent treatment, he approached her slowly and noticed that she had barely registered his entrance before turning back to her notebook. "Mary, you haven't even lit the burner yet. What exactly are you taking notes on?"

Her arm moved silently and Tristan quietly chuckled when the page appeared to be full of doodles. Taking the matchbook he struck a match and moved to light the burner in front of Rory when she suddenly and unexpectedly jerked away from him. She stared at the flame with wide-eyed curiosity and Tristan almost smacked himself for keeping the flame close to her. "Sorry, I forgot you were scared of fire."

Rory nodded, jilted, and was only grateful that she hadn't screamed out like the last time her and Tristan accidentally lit a Pop-Tart on fire. Tristan spent a little too much time gauging her reaction and let the match burn for too long so that it slightly burned his fingertip and the sharp pain caused him to drop it. Rory immediately noticed this and grabbed his hand, shoving it under the nearby faucet and turning the water on full power.

"Calm down, Mary, it's just a little burn. The water pressure hurts more than the actual burn." The dense teacher hardly noticed their little exchange and only took it to be a small fight over the procedure. He turned the water off and lit the match properly, making Rory turn a page so that she could observe the changes.

Tristan started to walk back to his group when he strained his ears to hear Rory's quiet remark, "Thank you."

After school he again parked his car across the street from Luke's and slowly opened the door, the little bell announcing his arrival. Luke glanced up haphazardly and waited for him to sit down before handing him a cup of coffee. Tristan smiled up appreciatively but confused as to why Luke so willingly gave him coffee. "Guess you beat the bus this time, kid." Before walking away he gave into his sentimental side, "It's good seeing you around again."

He gave a small smile and moved away from the counter and out of obvious sight. Tristan nursed that one cup for about five minutes when a very book-laden Rory walked through the entrance, not even noticing him in a booth near the corner. He watched Jess begrudgingly hand over a large coffee to go and watched her leave, dragging her backpack along behind her. Tristan quickly followed her out, ignoring the odd look that Jess had given him, and cornered her not far from the diner.

He had come up from behind and grabbed the backpack from its desolate place on the cement. Rory turned around in surprise and gave him a grateful smile when he swung the offending bag onto a shoulder. He saw her shyly tuck a piece of hair behind her ear and wondered about their distanced friendship. They had not walked far when Tristan inexplicably lowered the bag onto the sidewalk. The odd movement from the corner of her eye caused Rory to turn around, curious.

Before she could even face him, Tristan grabbed her small form and full-on kissed her, hard. After a moment or two of an unresponsive Rory, the act registered in her mind and to her own surprise she reacted in the strangest way. She slowly began to kiss him back, yet he pulled away a little too quickly for her liking. 

Coming to her own senses Rory screamed at him, "What the hell was that all about?"

"You kissed me back," Tristan accused, upset that everything had to backfire on him. 

"Me? Well, I wasn't the one who started it." Rory grabbed her backpack and took off running in the direction of her home while Tristan turned on heel and slowly started to walk back to his car. When he got there Jess was sitting on the curb, next to the shiny car and Tristan slumped down to sit next to him.

"Dude, I just kissed Rory," Tristan confessed and wasn't all that worried when Jess pretended to be choking on something.

Jess cleared his throat one last time and roughly questioned, "Why would you do that?"

Tristan had buried his head in his hands but raised it awkwardly to answer, "I don't know. Seemed like the thing to do."

"When would kissing Rory ever be 'the thing to do'?"

"I don't know. I was carrying her books and she was acting funny around me. And I guess I wanted to get a rise out of her."

Jess laughed at the explanation Tristan had just offered, "You two are incredibly cliched."

Tristan stared at him oddly but took the bait and questioned, "How so?"

"Please, you're childhood friends who were tragically separated from each other only to find yourselves back in the same school with conflicting reputations. You, the bad boy, are now falling for her sweet and innocent act while trying to maintain that overelaborated stereotype. All you need now is a song and dance number, which I will have no part in."

Tristan once again buried his face in his hands, "My life is a sappy romantic comedy from the 70's. Thank you for that comparison Jess."

"No problem. Now get your rich ass out of here before Ms. Patty conveniently forgets that she used to change your diaper," Jess said, only half joking, as he got up and brushed off his pants.

Tristan immediately jumped up and sped away in his car, leaving Jess behind as a fading memory while his mind wandered to how Rory would react to him the next day at school.

At the current moment Rory's response was to race inside her house and scream at the top of her lungs without even realizing that Lorelai had come home early and was running down the stairs at the time of Rory's outburst. Hearing the prolonged scream Lorelai tripped down the stairs to land in an ungraceful heap in front of her frustrated daughter.

Getting up she glared at Rory menacingly, "The only time I ever want to hear you scream like that again is if Luke is denying you coffee or you are in a life or death situation. Not to scare the living crap out of your mother who would then possibly trip down the stairs and break her neck."

Rory took a moment to stare at her mother before stomping towards her room and in response Lorelai followed her questioningly. "What? Was it something I said? I was only joking you know!" she yelled at the closed door. "Stupid teenagers and their problems."

Ignoring Rory's plea for privacy Lorelai entered the room anyways and sat on the bed, watching her daughter do her homework in, if it was at all possible, a pissed off way. She stayed on the bed for at least a good ten minutes until Rory begrudgingly muttered, "Tristan kissed me."

At that point Lorelai fell off the bed while yelling, "WHAT!"


	5. Chapter 5

"Rory! RORY! Wake up!" Lorelai shouted at her resting daughter during the middle of the night.

"Mom?" Rory answered groggily. Seeing that it wasn't even light out she continued, "What time is it? And why are you screaming?"

"It's four in the morning and, yes, I realize it. But I have to go to the Inn. Something to do with a small fire a guest accidentally lit, wasn't really awake when the fire department called. Just wanted to make sure you knew where I was. And to tell you that you can't take the bus today. One of Jess' antics is blocking the main street and it will take way too long just for the bus to even think of getting into the town. Alright I'm done. Go back to sleep," Lorelai finally stopped and turned to leave the room.

"Wait, how do you know the street's blocked? And how am I supposed to get to school?" Rory questioned fully awake.

"The fire department had a little trouble getting to the Inn and I don't know. Don't you have any nice friends at that school who will drive all the way out here to pick up your butt."

Rory just stared back at her mom and responded, completely exhausted, "No."

Lorelai made a face before thinking for a moment, "Then call Tristan."

"But I don't want to. Then I have to see him," she pouted gloomily, still unsure of the kiss.

"Well, you're going to have to. I have their number lying around somewhere, probably in the address book. Go back to sleep and call them at a more reasonable hour. Do you know how early it is?" Lorelai asked, mocking Rory.

"Shut up. You're the one who woke me up," Rory said throwing her pillow at Lorelai before she could escape the room. She groaned again when she realized that she had to get up to retrieve the pillow from the floor.

Two hours later Rory awoke and this time to the more expected music of radio/alarm. Digging up the old and almost never used address book, she did find a slot for the DuGreys. Swallowing her pride Rory woefully took the phone and called the number and waited patiently until a maid answered.

"Good morning, may I speak to Tristan?" Rory kept the politeness at a high, seeing as it was six in the morning and no sane person would call at this hour.

"I'm sorry but Mister Tristan has already left for his football practice. Is there anything else I can assist you with?" the maid answered promptly.

Rory stared at the phone in wonder, thinking why Tristan hadn't bothered to mention football in one of their spastic conversations. She regained her senses when the other line called out again, "Miss?"

"Oh, no, that's alright. Thank you. Have a good day." Rory said while mulling over her options on how to get to school. Quickly thinking of Luke Rory began to prepare for school hoping that the diner wasn't too crowded this morning.

Pushing her way through the crowd of people around the front door Rory fought for Luke's attention as he tried to take some orders. "Luke, you couldn't possible give me a ride to school."

"Sorry, we're a little busy or else I'd be glad to take you," he answered while quickly scribbling on the order pad and shoving the piece of paper at Caesar.

"I can take you," Jess interjected when he plopped down some plates in front Miss Patty.

Luke glared and responded, "No, you can't cause you're going to school today and for more than five minutes. Why can't you take the bus Rory?"

Rory looked up sullenly, "Cause Boy Wonder over there clogged up the main street and the bus can't even get in the town."

Jess grinned sheepishly and ducked a hit from Luke before retreating to the back.

Luke went off mumbling about irresponsible teenagers, leaving Rory behind at a loss for what to do. Someone approached her from behind and cleared their throat.

"I can take you, Rory," Dean said out loud, coming from his stool where he had heard the entire exchange.

Rory spun around quickly and was incredibly startled while fumbling for a valid excuse to get out of his offer, "I, uh, I wouldn't want to keep you from school. It's a long drive there."

Dean smile shyly before continuing in what he thought was reassurance, "Don't worry. I start a period later than most people. I'll have plenty of time to get back here for my first class."

Luke suddenly glanced over and found the need to interrupt. "Actually, Rory, I could take you now if you want. It's starting to clear out a bit." 

A quick look around assured Rory that it wasn't and not wanting to trouble Luke she begrudgingly accepted Dean's offer. "No, it's alright now Luke. Dean's already offered to take me. He has a car and a little more time than you do right now."

Despite Rory's hesitant acceptance, Dean smiled brightly and took her stuff from her, leading Rory to his pickup outside. Waiting for him to get settled, Rory took a long sip of the coffee Luke had handed her before she was pulled out the door.

Arriving at the school in one piece, Rory breathed out a sigh of relief as she watched Dean's truck pull away, him waving in the driver's seat. She was glad to get out of the ordeal alive, not that Dean was a bad driver but that the awkward silence threatened to strangle her. Rory climbed the stairs to the main building, just happy to make it to school a little ahead of time. 

Tristan watched Rory's expression change from a forced happiness to a relieved and slumped demeanor as the Bag Boy left the parking lot. Wondering why she needed a ride to the school, he trailed behind her at a safe distance, noticing that she was completely unaware of anything happening around her at the moment. He watched her for a minute before approaching, thinking about the changes in everyone that he had missed while adapting to society's standards.

Taking the safe route and deciding not to startle her so early in the morning, Tristan came up to Rory from her open side, not blocked by the locker door. Still, she had been so immersed in her own head that she didn't realize his presence until he cleared his throat. The sound made her jump, trip over her bag on the floor, and stumble backwards towards the polished floor.

Quickly reaching out Tristan caught her deftly with one arm as if he was dipping her during a formal dance. "Somehow you always end up in close proximity to me," he commented wryly, before allowing her to straighten up.

"Yeah, too bad it's never really by choice," Rory retorted, remembering yesterday's event. Ignoring Tristan, she continued to pull random books from her locker, unsure of her class schedule and the textbooks required for them.

Tristan observed her as she remained puzzled over her Literature book, to bring or not to bring. "You know, Davis always uses that book in class and even though it weighs like ten pounds it's probably safer to carry it." He waited for an appreciation of his advice but it never came. "So why did Bag Boy drop you off today? Took a break from stocking the shelves?"

Rory scowled at him though she didn't particularly like Dean just that he was a lot less cocky than the one standing next to her. "He was doing me a favor. You know what those are right? When you help people out of the goodness of your heart?"

"That's funny. I could have sworn that the word 'favor' always came attached to the word 'sexual'. Well, at least, those are the only ones that I know of," Tristan said lightly, knowing the mere mention of the word was sure to make Rory blush.

Rory did, though barely, before slamming her locker shut and leaving in the opposite direction. Smiling to himself Tristan took the time to yell after her even though his comment wasn't one that she expected. "You're going the wrong way. Home room's on the other side of the school."

She quickly turned around and stormed right by him acting as if she had known all along. Tristan couldn't help the smile that broke out onto his face when he yelled at her one more time. "Take a right," he called out when she appeared to be going left.

Arriving just moments before the bell Tristan was ushered into class by the teacher who had been outside chatting with a parent. He took his assigned seat behind Rory and poked her in the back while the teacher was presently pulling together his scattered notes. "Mary, Mary, quite contrary. We need to talk. And soon."

Rory didn't even turn around to face him but he still noticed the lack of ease in her posture now. When she refused to respond, he tapped her lightly on the shoulder with his pencil and she whirled around, agitated. "While I'm glad to know that you still remember your nursery rhymes, Tristan. You and I have nothing to talk about so if you would please stop distracting me."

His eyes grew wider as she spoke though not because of Rory's intimidating glare or harsh, down-putting voice, but because of the ever nearing teacher who was eyeing him like he was the devil.

"While I am so glad that Miss Gilmore can see through your amazingly charming exterior, I doubt that one outburst from her is going to solve this problem any time soon," he sternly said as Rory finished the end of her tirade and once again turned in her seat in surprise. She blushed at being caught and he continued, "So Miss Gilmore, if you would kindly trade seats with Miss Grant it would be greatly appreciated."

Although he structured the instructions as a request both girls knew better and slowly rose from their seats, swapping places. Happy to be farther away from Tristan, she still felt eyes boring into the back of her head and turned to look at him but found that his gaze was in a battle with that of their teacher. Glancing around the room, she finally turned to her right and found Paris' penetrating evil eye concentrated solely on her.

Afraid she was going to drop down dead from the Look, Rory turned her attention back to her teacher who was now addressing Tristan. "If it is alright with you, Mr. DuGrey, may we begin our lesson only a bit later than usual?"

The tone was mocking, challenging, and judgmental all at the same time and Tristan answered in a cool, calm voice that was cocky in the slightest way possible, "By all means." When the entire class turned their attention back to the board, Rory's eyes remained on his and he gave her a small wink before she turned to copy down the notes.

A/N - Thanks for the reviews so far. Not much else to say.


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